A common thread among the world's most expensive Christmas trees is that they are almost always artificial. Humanity continually strives to surpass nature's perfection, and this time, the effort comes from top designers and installation artists—these trees are essentially elaborate installations, sometimes bordering on performance art.
The 10 Priciest Christmas Trees Ever Created
10. Hotel Sofitel. Ebony Decorated with Cognac – $55,000
London's chic Sofitel Hotel features an artificial tree adorned with 200 golden bottles filled with Louis XIII Grand Champagne Cognac. These bottles are handcrafted by renowned Baccarat crystal artisans, and an exclusive smoky blue chandelier crowns the tree.
Be careful with alcohol—if you accidentally knock over this masterpiece, besides medical bills, you'll owe $55,000.
Source: luxe-magazine.com
9. Ginza Tanaka Jewelry Store – $468,000
At Tokyo's Ginza Tanaka jewelry store—where gold is adored—employees poured 12 kg of pure gold into a dazzling, sun-sparkling tree.
Here, you don't have to worry about alcohol—if you stumble into this beauty in the dark, you'll only pay for treatment. However, getting drunk around polite Japanese company is considered bad manners.
Source: manta.joyent.com
8. Golden Steve Quick Jewelers Desktop Tree – $500,000
In 2007, jeweler Steve Quick used an 18-carat diamond and covered the tree with sparkling diamond fragments. The gold tree is topped with a platinum star featuring a 4.52-carat diamond.
Nice, cool, and tasteful.
Source: i.pinimg.com
7. Soo Kee Diamond Tree Jewelry Store – $1 Million
We head to Singapore's Bugis Junction shopping center, where the administration asked jeweler Soo Kee to create something stunning. He delivered: a 6-meter, three-ton tree decorated with 21,798 diamonds totaling 913 carats. To ensure no detail was missed, 500 light bulbs were placed on the branches.
Soo Kee—well done!
Source: i.pinimg.com
6. Washington, the Capitol Christmas Tree – $1 Million
This tree is natural. The towering evergreen, over 20 meters high, is adorned with a thousand lights but contains no diamonds or gold. Admire the harmony of nature and the modern urban landscape.
Source: wtvq.com
5. Jewelry Store Ginza Tanaka – $1.8 Million
Tokyo's Ginza Tanaka appears again with a 3-meter tree made from 20 kg of pure 24-carat gold, melted into shimmering gold wires.
Source: financesonline.com
4. Takashimaya Department Store with Rosa Mini Christmas Tree – $1.8 Million
So far we've seen tall trees, but Takashimaya took a different approach. Inspired by Parisian flower boutique Claude Quinquo, they created a 40-centimeter tree resembling a small tower of roses, watched over by a teddy bear.
Why so expensive? Australian and African diamonds are embedded in the rose petals like dew drops!
Source: redflushcasino.com
3. Swarovski Crystal Christmas Tree – $1.8+ Million
In Hong Kong Airport's central hall, a 16-meter tree is adorned with 20 million small gold and silver Swarovski crystals imported from Austria.
Yes, twenty million gold and silver crystals!
Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com (Read more: The Cinderella Story: How Meghan Markle Looked Before She Became Duchess)
2. Golden Christmas Tree Ginza Tanaka Disney – $4.2 Million
None of Ginza's trees claimed the top spot, but collectively the store is the world's champion jewelry retailer. This 2.4-meter tree features 50 Disney characters that appear to have transformed into pure gold.
Source: tdrjp.com
1. Christmas Tree at Emirates Palace Hotel – $11.4 Million
In 2010, the most expensive Christmas tree in history "grew" at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace Hotel. The tree itself cost only a few thousand dollars; the rest comes from the vast array of diamonds, gold, pearls, sapphires, and emeralds hung on it.
For a hotel that offers vending machines for gold bullion and planes for its guests, an $11.4 million tree is like buying a bunch of daisies for the rest of us.
Source: financesonline.com
In summary, the familiar childhood carol takes on new meaning: "In the lobby a Christmas tree was born." And such a tree should match the scent of Santa himself. Read also: The Best Chocolate In The World And Where To Find It.
